Help:Building stars and star systems
In the art of world-building, stars are integral to how the worlds develop and exist. Determining your star first will help evaluate the worlds you use and further explain the culture and society of the species that live there. Following is the process for developing a star and consequently a star system. Step 1: Location The developer first decides where in a galaxy the star system is located. This is partly for figuring out interstellar travel in a science fiction setting, but also to figure out the nature of the night sky in fantasy settings. A system that is in the center of a galaxy will have a much thicker starfield than one on the outskirts. Depending also on its position one could generally make out the shape of the galaxy as well. Think of the galaxy as a sphere. The closer to the center of the sphere you go, the more stars there are and the younger they are. The spiral also exists on a somewhat small plane, if you go too high in the sphere you will leave the star field. Given those parameters, determine where in all of that you would like your star system. If you place it toward the core of the galaxy, you will likely have multiple stars affecting your system, smaller planets in tight orbits around a very hot sun(s). If you place it on the outskirts, you will probably have a large, cold, red giant with fully developed worlds and gas worlds spanning a huge radius. Solar System-like systems would fall somewhere in the middle. You can mix this up as much as you like. Consider what planets you want in your system. How many and what sorts of planets to put in the system is entirely up to you, but you will have to take the system into account when making the planets, so it's best to take the planets into account when making the system. Step 2: Creating an article Places as articles break=no buttonlabel=Create a new place Basilicus is a major project. It is extremely important to create pages according to a process. If a page is not created correctly, it won't be easily accessed by other Basilicans needing to use it. After creating an article, you must categorize it correctly. break=no prefix=Category: preload=Template:Preload/cat_main buttonlabel=Create a new category To make navigation easier, make a navbox containing articles from your project. break=no prefix=Template: preload=Template:Preload/navbox buttonlabel=Create a new navbox For example, see Cresian System (place), Category:Cresian System (category), and Template:Cresia (navbox). Places as categories The former convention was creating places as categories. The easy way To create your page you must first come up with a name for your star system. This can be any identification. Once you've decided upon a name, create a new wiki page using that system's name. The simplest way is to type the system's name into this box and click the button: Creating by URL You can also create your page by going to your new URL: http://basilicus.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Your_System's_Name This URL is created as a "category". The organizational structure of this site demands that any physical location must be on "category pages". The primary article is written in the category page like a normal page, however it also lists all those locations that are present within this particular location. For example, if one created an article for the Solar System, they would create this page by typing in the URL in the browser's address: http://basilicus.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Solar_System Once the article is written and saved, all the locations in the Solar System would show up as subcategories. So one would see Mars, Earth, New York, etc. Now that you have your new page, copy the following text onto it. This ensures that your page will have the standard templates. Location templates A further step is needed to give your star system its place in the hierarchy of places. Go to Template:Location and type the name of your new place into the box, then click "Create new location." On the new page that comes up, replace "Nowhere" with the name of the galactic sector that your star system is in. If you can't choose, just leave it as "Nowhere" and someone else will choose a location for it. Another way Preview your new page, and click the red "Template:..." link that appears. You may want to open it in a new tab or window, since clicking it normally will navigate away from your new, unsaved page. Once you have created the template that ties your place into the rest of the universe, you can move on to the next step. Type (or paste) }} into the new template page and save it. Creating by URL If all else fails, or if you get good at this and don't want to use the buttons provided, you can create your page directly by going to the URL: http://basilicus.wikia.com/wiki/Template:Location/Your_System's_Name Type into the new template page and save it. This is the bare minimum. If you want to avoid typing the system name, will automatically change into the name of your star system when you save the page. Typing "subst:Location" instead of "Location" fixes some occasional problems, but usually isn't needed for star systems. Step 3: Astronomical statistics The developer must follow a process to determine what the astronomical units for his or her star(s) is. Statistics must be figured for every star he or she chooses to have in the system. Although almost anything is possible, it should be considered that multiple stars in a system are relatively rare if that system can support life. Also hot and fast burning stars alive long enough to allow for evolution, although cultures can may immigrate there. Refer to the following star chart and choose your star's class. Choose values given within the ranges provided for each category. In many ways, those values will determine what your planets will be like. If you choose a star too hot or cold for life to exist, your planets will have to be settled with protective shelters such as biodomes and underground cities. Also if the star is young then the system is also young, so the chances are most of the planets in the system will have high tectonic activity. Likewise, if a star is old then the system is probably old and most of the planets will be barren or scorched, depending on the nature of the star. A happy medium would be something like the Solar System with an average heat, size, and age. That is not to deter you to create systems with more 'extreme' conditions, just realize the consequences of doing so. Readers may not accept your system because the planets could not fit the star you chose and vice versa. Glaring improbabilities such as a white dwarf star having a tropical planet in its orbit should be avoided to keep scientific integrity. Choose values for the following categories based on the star chart: class, average temperature, mass, radius, and age. You must also come up with a value for visual luminosity (how bright the star is). Astronomical charts always use the sun as a gauge for this value. Generally, the hotter the star the higher its visual luminosity. Step 4: Politics If your society is not interstellar or interterrestrial, you can skip this. This section should not be used to get into the nitty-gritty of all the political factions within the system, but rather look exclusively at the star system's politics in relation to other star systems. Developers will have ample opportunity to discuss politics within the system further down the road in their world building. Include the following topics when describing the politics of your star system: Go into detail about political allies, political truces and treaties, cease-fires and no fly zones, pending negotiations, cold wars, and hot wars. Discuss the overall picture of the star system's political role in relation to other star systems. Summarize the political structure of the system as a whole and how it handles domestic and foreign affairs, how the system works, who is in charge, how leadership is appointed, the various branches and departments of the system-wide government (if any), the military, how the military works, and any other detail that provides a reader a good picture of the overall structure of politics surrounding the system as a whole. If there is no unified government or a single entity running the system as a whole, mention how the system handles outsiders or represents themselves to others, also summarizing the larger influences and their operations. Step 5: Economy This section should not be used to get into the nitty-gritty of all the economical factors within the system, but rather look exclusively at the star system's economy in relation to other star systems. Developers will have ample opportunity to discuss economy within the system further down the road in their world building. Include the following topics when describing the economy of your star system: Go into detail about economic allies, open trade and sanctioned systems, and trade embargoes. Discuss the overall picture of the star system's economic role in relation to other star systems. Discuss the overall economic activity of the system. Go into detail about the economic system the star system chooses to use with other systems and if it is a unified star system, discuss how this economic system works within the system itself. Detail its major resources, interstellar demands and interstellar supplies. Mention any economic movements or system-wide practices, such as unified currencies, stock markets, etc. Also relate the economy with the system's government if there is one and how it is regulated. Step 6: History This is not a history of all the individual societies within the star system, but rather of the system itself. Discuss the major events that affected the whole system throughout living history. Be sure to explore the territorial, economic, religious, political and social aspects of the system's history in detail. Step 7: Society Provide an overall picture of the star system's society. Include art, literature, sports, past times, foods, customs, slang, biases, prejudices, traditions, religions, political movements, architecture, music, education, media and entertainment, social classes, worldview, and any other detail that will provide a picture of the people there. The social aspects you go into should be somewhat universal throughout the system. Do not include social aspects specific to a culture within the system because you will detail those things later on in the world building process. Also include the latest major happenings in the system on all social aspects. Mention various headlines, ongoing problems and any social issues that may apply. You may also mention main social figures, leaders, celebrities, journalists, etc. This is an opportunity to apply reality to your system. Only mention current events that are important to the star system as a whole. Work in progress At the end of your article, type . This creates a checklist for the article. After saving your star system, go back and check all of the boxes for jobs you've completed. You can do the incomplete jobs yourself, or you can leave them for others. If you leave your star system partially finished, type . This tells other Basilicans that you will come back to it, but it doesn't "claim" the article - others can still come and make improvements.